JACK BROOK/Report for America, Author at The Rapid City Post

A New Orleans man who had his murder conviction tossed wins election as city’s chief record keeper

November 16, 2025

A New Orleans man who spent three decades in prison before his murder conviction was vacated won election to serve as the city’s chief criminal court record keeper. On Saturday, Calvin Duncan triumphed in a runoff election over the incumbent clerk of criminal court Darren Lombard. While a judge tossed Duncan’s conviction and he is listed in the National Registry of Exonerations, Lombard and Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill denied his innocence. A letter signed by more than 160 legal professionals said Duncan was wrongfully convicted. Duncan, a lawyer who became a renowned legal expert while incarcerated, says his lived experienced gives him a unique appreciation for the weight of the office.

FILE - The Richwood Correctional Center, now an ICE detention facility, is seen in this aerial photo in Monroe, La., on April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

Louisiana jury awards more than $40 million to family of man who died in privately-run jail

October 23, 2025

A federal jury found a private corrections company running a Louisiana jail liable for the 2015 death of a man who died of head injuries he sustained while in custody and awarded the family more than $40 million in damages. The lawsuit verdict reached this week in the Western District of Louisiana is likely the largest ever against a private correctional company and among the highest payouts for an in-custody death in the U.S., attorneys representing Erie Moore, Sr.’s family say. Moore died from head injuries sustained while detained at Richwood Correctional Center, run by LaSalle Management Company, court records show. The jury found three guards liable for negligence, battery and excessive force against Moore and that the negligence of at least one guard caused his death.

New Orleans resident Daniella Santoro points out the spot in her backyard where her family discovered a 1,900-year-old gravestone for a Roman sailor that had been missing for decades from an Italian museum, on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Brook)

A long-lost ancient Roman artifact reappears in a New Orleans backyard

October 10, 2025

A family cleaning their backyard in New Orleans discovered an unusual marble tablet with some characters in Latin. Daniella Santoro turned to an archaeologist friend for help. It turns out to be a grave marker for a 42-year-old Roman sailor named Sextus Congenius Verus, who died 1,900 years ago. The tablet had been held at a museum in the seaside town of Civitavecchia that was destroyed during World War II. That’s where the grandfather of the home’s previous owner was stationed, and fell in love. The couple apparently brought the tablet from Italy after the war. Now the FBI is in talks with Italian authorities to repatriate the tablet.

New Orleans is electing a new mayor and a wide field is pledging change after indictments

October 10, 2025

New Orleans voters head to the polls to elect a new slate of city leaders, including a mayor to replace term-limited incumbent LaToya Cantrell, who faces federal corruption charges tied to an alleged affair with her bodyguard. Of the city’s more than 10 mayoral candidates, Helena Moreno, a former television reporter turned city councilmember, has raised the most money. Across the ballot, any candidate who receives more than 50% of the vote wins outright, otherwise the top two candidates head to a run-off on Nov. 15. The city’s embattled sheriff is also seeking re-election despite a 10-inmate jailbreak occurring under her watch in May.

FILE - This undated handout photo shows Derrick D. Groves, one of the inmates who escaped from a New Orleans jail on May 16, 2025. (Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office via AP, File)

New Orleans jail escapee agrees to return to Louisiana after being recaptured in Georgia

October 9, 2025

New Orleans jail escapee Derrick Groves, who spent nearly five months on the run before being recaptured in Georgia, agreed to be returned to Louisiana during an appearance before a Fulton County magistrate judge. On Thursday, the New Orleans native told the judge “I want to return where I’m from.” Louisiana authorities say they are now working through the logistics to retrieve Groves, who will be placed in the state’s maximum security prison at Angola, according to the state’s attorney general. Groves, who was the last of 10 escapees at large following a brazen break out from a New Orleans jail in May, was recaptured Wednesday under a basement crawlspace in an Atlanta home.

Orleans Parish Clerk of Court Candidate Calvin Duncan, left, shakes hands with Raymond Flanks Sept. 25, 2025 in New Orleans. Flanks was released from prison in 2022 after a judge vacated Flanks' conviction in a 1983 murder ending his nearly four decades in prison. (AP Photo/Stephen Smith)

A New Orleans candidate’s murder conviction was tossed but the state still challenges his past

October 7, 2025

A down-ballot race for New Orleans clerk of criminal court has turned personal and contentious, as candidate Calvin Duncan faces attacks over whether he was truly exonerated for murder. Duncan, who spent decades in prison before his conviction was vacated, taught himself law while incarcerated and struggled for years access his records. He says that makes his quest to be the city’s chief criminal recordkeeper personal. However, Louisiana’s attorney general and the incumbent clerk deny his innocence, pointing to a plea deal Duncan says he accepted only to secure release. Duncan’s supporters say the accusations are an example of bare-knuckle politics in New Orleans. Voters head to the polls Saturday.

FILE - Arnold James tries to keep his feet as a strong gust nearly blows him over as makes his way on foot to the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Aug. 29, 2005. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)

New Orleans marks 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina with memorials and brass band parade

August 28, 2025

New Orleans is set to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s devastating landfall on the Gulf Coast. Events including memorial services and a parade are planned to honor those who were affected. Thousands of people are expected to gather Friday in the Lower Ninth Ward, a majority Black neighborhood where the federal levee system was breached on Aug. 29, 2005. They will follow a brass band in a parade known as a second line, a beloved city tradition. A wreath is to be laid at a memorial for dozens of unidentified victims, and there will be a minute of silence along with speeches from survivors and city leaders.

A sanitation truck spraying lemon scented soap rolls down Decatur Street in the French Quarter, Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Stephen Smith)

New Orleans trash collectors litigate over removing foul French Quarter odors

July 24, 2025

In one of America’s favorite party hotspots, residents and business owners say the stench of trash and bad decisions is being scrubbed clean like never before. They’re heaping praise on the French Quarter’s new waste management contractor, run by the so-called “Trash King” of New Orleans, Sidney Torres IV. But a judge on Wednesday allowed Mayor LaToya Cantrell to replace the popular IV Waste with another company at the end of July. Henry Consulting says it can do the job just as well. At stake is the attractiveness of some of the nation’s most touristed city blocks, visited by 19 million people a year.

FILE - The nearly $3 billion Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project along the Mississippi River, intended to stave off coastal land loss in southeastern Louisiana, is seen during a flyover with the environmental coalition group Restore the Mississippi River Delta, Aug. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Jack Brook, File)

Louisiana cancels $3 billion coastal restoration project funded by oil spill settlement

July 17, 2025

Louisiana is officially canceling a $3 billion coastal restoration project funded by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement. The Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Project aimed to rebuild over 20 square miles of land in southeast Louisiana to combat erosion and sea level rise. Conservation groups supported the project as a science-based solution to climate change. However, Republican Gov. Jeff Landry opposed it, citing harm to local oystermen and the fishing industry. On Thursday, a coalition of federal agencies overseeing the settlement funds declared the project “no longer viable” because of litigation and a suspended federal permit after the state halted work.

President Donald Trump holds his signed signature bill of tax breaks and spending cuts at the White House, Friday, July 4, 2025, in Washington, as House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., left, watches and Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., takes a photo. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

House Democrats decry health cuts in GOP tax law during town hall that previews midterms messaging

July 10, 2025

Democrats are using a Louisiana town hall to preview one of their main strategies for attempting to retake the U.S. House next year, ripping into the health care changes in the just-passed Republican tax and spending bill. The chamber’s Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries, said the gathering at Xavier University in New Orleans was the first stop on a nationwide tour to highlight the bill’s potential impacts. The Congressional Budget Office estimates 11.8 million adults and children are at risk of losing their health insurance under the bill. Republicans insist the measure will boost the U.S. economy, strengthen the borders and ensure that millions of Americans won’t see a tax increase.

This handout photo shows, Derrick D. Groves, one of the inmates who escaped from a New Orleans jail. (Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office via AP)

Convicted murderer Derrick Groves eludes law enforcement as last New Orleans jail escapee on the run

July 8, 2025

Ten inmates escaped from a New Orleans jail almost two months ago, and authorities have captured all but the man with the most violent rap sheet. Derrick Groves crawled through a hole behind a toilet along with nine other inmates in May. Once captured, Groves faces life in prison following convictions last year for second-degree murder. Experts say more than 90% of escapees are recaptured within a year. However, law enforcement believes family or friends have likely helped Groves in a city that has a history of widespread distrust of law enforcement and the criminal justice system.

FILE - Signage hangs above a CVS pharmacy location in Philadelphia, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Louisiana files lawsuits alleging pharmaceutical giant CVS deceived customers in text messages

June 24, 2025

Louisiana accused pharmaceutical giant CVS of using its dominant market position to abuse customer information, drive up drug costs and unfairly undermine independent pharmacies. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced Tuesday she had filed several lawsuits against CVS after the company sent out mass text messages to thousands of state residents earlier this month to lobby against proposed legislation. The proposed law, which failed to pass, would have banned pharmacy benefit managers like CVS from owning drug stores. The lawsuits allege the company engaged in “unfair” and “deceptive” acts in violation of state trade law. CVS denies the allegations and says it operates lawfully.

U.S. Marine Corps veteran Adrian Clouatre holds his 3-month-old daughter Lyn and his nearly two old son Noah at their home in Baton Rouge, La. on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephen Smith)

ICE detains Marine Corps veteran’s wife who was still breastfeeding their baby

June 22, 2025

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detained the wife of a Marine Corps veteran in Louisiana during a routine immigration appointment in New Orleans. Paola Clouatre is the mother of a breastfeeding infant and one of tens of thousands of people detained and facing deportation as the Trump administration pushes for immigration officers to arrest 3,000 people a day. Immigration law experts say directives for strict immigrant enforcement have cast away practices of deference previously afforded to military families. Adrian Clouatre says Paola Clouatre accompanied her mother into the country from Mexico more than a decade ago seeking asylum and had been applying for legal status.

Jury finds New Orleans police officer who shot and killed puppy violated rights but has immunity

June 12, 2025

A New Orleans police officer who shot and killed a puppy violated its owners’ constitutional rights but had qualified immunity, a federal jury found. On Thursday, the jury ruled in a civil lawsuit that Officer Derrick Burmaster had acted unreasonably when he killed a 22-pound (10-kilogram) Catahoula Leopard dog named Apollo, according to the plaintiffs’ attorney William Most. The jury awarded the dog’s owners $10,400 in damages to be paid by the city, Most said. The 16-week old rescue dog had run toward Burmaster when he entered a home’s yard in response to a domestic disturbance report in 2021. While multiple internal investigations initially found Burmaster’s use of force was not justified, department leadership later cleared him of wrongdoing after the civil lawsuit was filed.

This image provided by the Louisiana Attorney General's Office shows former jail employee, Darriana Burton, 28, who was arrested on felony charge of conspiracy to commit simple escape, Monday, June 9, 2025, in New Orleans. (Louisiana Attorney General's Office via AP)

Fugitive’s girlfriend charged with aiding breakout at New Orleans jail where she once worked

June 9, 2025

Authorities have arrested a former New Orleans jail employee and accused her of aiding in a 10-inmate escape at the facility last month. The former jail employee, Darriana Burton, is the boyfriend of Derrick Groves, a convicted murderer who is one of two inmates who remain at large. Burton is one of at least 16 people arrested and accused of aiding the escape of the inmates on May 16. Burton was fired from her job in 2023 after she was arrested on allegations of bringing a folding knife and a bag of Cheetos containing tobacco and marijuana into the jail. The charges were later dropped.

FILE - Louisiana state police enter a house on North Galvez street as they pursue a fugitive that escaped from a New Orleans jail, Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

A growing number of New Orleans fugitives’ friends and family arrested for aiding in jail escape

May 30, 2025

The 10 men who escaped from a New Orleans jail more than two weeks ago by cutting out a hole behind a toilet received help from at least 14 people, many of them friends and family who provided food, cash, transport and shelter according to court documents. Some are held on bonds $1 million or higher. Records reviewed by The Associated Press show how some of the fugitives received aid before and after their escape — including from a number of people named in police reports but not facing charges, such as an apparent former jail employee. Authorities upped the reward to $50,000 for each of the two remaining fugitives.

FILE - The community of Geismar is seen in the shadow of a chemical and petroleum industrial corridor, that is a known source of ethylene oxide emissions, in Ascension Parish, La., Friday, June 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

Louisiana stifles community air monitoring with threat of million-dollar fines, federal lawsuit says

May 22, 2025

A coalition of Louisiana environmental groups is suing the state over a law they say violates their free speech rights by restricting them from sharing information about air quality. The lawsuit, filed in federal court on Thursday, argues that Louisiana’s Community Air Monitoring Reliability Act is unconstitutional and imposes onerous requirements such as a $1 million penalty for violations. Some groups say they have stopped sharing data on their social media platforms as a result. The state has argued the law is necessary to prevent misinformation after an influx in funding from the Environmental Protection Agency to support grassroots air monitoring in heavily industrialized areas.

This undated photo released by the Louisiana Attorney General's Office shows Sterling Williams. (Louisiana Attorney General's Office via AP)

New Orleans jail worker thought he was unclogging a toilet, not helping 10 escape, lawyer says

May 21, 2025

A lawyer for a worker charged with helping 10 men escape a New Orleans jail says the worker did not know about the jailbreak plan. Sterling Williams was arrested Tuesday in connection with Friday’s jailbreak. His lawyer, Michael Kennedy, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the inmates clogged a toilet to get the water shut off so that they could escape through a hole behind it. Kennedy says Williams did not allow the inmates to cut a pipe behind the toilet to create an opening for their escape. Authorities have said that Williams was threatened into turning off the water but could have reported the threat and the men’s plan.

JACK BROOK/Report for America.